In the medical field, a syringe is an apparatus or device that is a commonplace tool for injecting and delivering a fluid into a patient or withdrawing a fluid or material from a patient, e.g., human or non-human, for medical and/or preventative reasons. When delivering the fluid (e.g., a medicine comprising an anesthetic, an analgesic, or other fluid injected, infused and/or delivered for medical and/or preventative reasons), the syringe may be loaded with a standard carpule, which may contain the medicine or other fluid that reaches the patient by someone pushing downwardly on the syringe's plunger rod that terminates in a hook, which pierces the top of the standard carpule. After this piercing, the medicine or other fluid is pushed out of the syringe's needle by someone continuing to push downwardly on the syringe's plunger rod, so that the movable plug within the standard carpule moves down the standard carpule. Once the movable plug is at the bottom of the standard carpule, another standard carpule must be loaded into the syringe in order to provide the patient with additional medicine or other fluids. The changing and/or re-loading of multiple carpules into the syringe, in addition to the necessity for multiple injections for delivery of the medicine contained within the multiple carpules, creates health risks for physicians and patients, in addition to increasing the costs associated with materials, time, labor and other resources.
Apparatuses and methods for delivery or withdrawal of a volume of fluid greater than a standard carpule volume are desired and needed to reduce: (1) health risks associated with multiple injections (needle-sticks) and the use of multiple carpules; (2) costs associated with the manufacturing of multiple carpules; (3) costs associated with the use of the materials required for the manufacturing of multiple carpules; (4) excess time required in delivering or withdrawing multiple carpules because a volume of solution, greater than the volume held by a standard carpule, is needed; and (5) the emotional trauma experienced by patients having to receive multiple injections due to the need for multiple carpules.